Top 106 Quotes & Sayings by Steve Bruce

As a player I had some good times but people forget I had a lot of hard times to get there; seven years in the lower divisions.

Whether I'm 'head coach' or 'manager,' it doesn't bother me at all.

When I was younger I was a nightmare. I let people down. I resigned from Sheffield United because things were promised to me that weren't forthcoming. I let people down when I was younger, certainly in management.

I judge people, and myself, when you are up against it. When you've been beaten like that you have to find out who is alongside you, you roll your sleeves and come out fighting and those are my principles.

If Mauricio Pochettino can get the sack, then we all can because he did a wonderful job at Tottenham.

My job's about the accumulation of points over a 10-month season. And if you're with a team expected to be in the bottom half of the Premier League it's always going to be tough. There's going to be periods when you go up and down.

A lot of businessman come into football find it difficult. They think because they have more money to throw at it, that will work. Of course money helps but it doesn't guarantee success.

My dad worked all his life, an engineer, 30 years, week in, week out at the same machine. That is mind-boggling to me. I do not know how the hell he did it.

This country always wants the underdog to win, that's in our nature.

Nobody wants to lose to bloody Rochdale.

Your boyhood club, the one you've supported, the one result that you look for more than anybody else because of my upbringing, has always been Newcastle so to go and manage it is arguably the pinnacle but it's a really difficult job, I have to tell you.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the job is seeing a young fella who you give a debut to or you buy and see them progress.

I've said it for a long time that Aston Villa is a special club.

You know, I'm not one of these where football is everything in my life. It never has been and there have always been things that are more important to me.

Jurgen Klopp coming into this country, you just have to applaud him for his tactics and the way Liverpool play.

Does it feel like I can't win? Sometimes.

Any club at the top needs stability, guidance and deep pockets.

You have to be as truthful as you possibly can. That's always been my philosophy.

I was player-manager at Sheffield United. I played my last ever game for them. It was terrible. We lost 4-1, I think to Sunderland. Fancy that, a Geordie, being forced to retire because of a defeat to Sunderland.

You lose a game and you lose confidence and we get that back through hard work.

I was never blessed with any real ability but I loved the game and made up for anything I lacked with sheer hard work.

Any Englishman would be extremely proud to be the England manager.

When I heard the word 'cancer,' I was in bits. I panicked, I think everyone does, it was very scary, horrible. Thankfully, the melanoma does not appear to have spread. They'll continue to monitor me, I've got scars on my face, on my back. Good thing I was never worried about my good looks.

My loyalty was questioned for a long time when I was younger, and that's understandable. I found it very difficult to conform and I wanted to do it all my way.

I analyse performances on the pitch rather than any warm-up.

I'm not really into tactics.

I saw my mates go off to get apprenticeships on the shipyards and I went off to chase the dream of playing football and made sure I worked hard at it.

Flexibility isn't a bad thing.

I believe in what I do on the training ground.

For any Geordie, if you can't manage to play for Newcastle, then to get back and manage them it's something special.

The only way you can respond to anything in football is through results.

Alan Shearer is a friend of mine and he is entitled to his opinions.

I think as a manager you have always got to be looking at how you can improve.

Man-management far outweighs sports science.

The Hull job had been offered to me and while watching Chelsea against Bayern Munich I was thinking: 'I'm going to give it a crack.' I'd rather be managing than commentating.

Every time I took another job, my dad would ask, 'Why are you putting yourself through it again, haven't you got enough money?' I wish I'd spent more time with them, I think anyone who loses their parents will understand that, but I also know what he would have said. 'You crack on Steve, get on with it, son.'

Coming to manage Newcastle was never going to be easy. But there was never a side to me that thought, 'Oh no, I do not want that.'

When I was younger, I was a bit awkward to work for, hence why I had about five clubs in two years. I was a bit petulant, shall we say. But you're never too old to keep learning because every day in management, something is thrown at you which throws you a curveball.

Not many managers have been in charge for as many games as I have, that should tell you something.

I know what it means to the supporters of Newcastle to try and win something and realistically, the cup competitions are our best route.

My parents were a huge inspiration to me and a massive part of my life and everything that I have achieved.

They rejected me as a player. Newcastle said I wasn't going to be big or strong enough to make the grade, Burnley said the same. Most people said the same to be fair.

Geordies get up every day, they go to work, they put a shift in.

I suppose it's better to be a lucky manager than a good one.

You have to make sure you lead from the front and put a brave face on it during the tough times to bring people with you and get out of it.

Management, whether you're managing in the lower division or you're right at the top, is about getting the best out of what you've got.

It's the manager's job to always knock on the door, to always strive to improve, but there has to be a reasonable degree of common sense too.

I think in management, if you lose the drive to succeed you may as well not be in it.

I have not got a CV like Rafa, few do.

Stats can do anything you wish. When we got the sack at Aston Villa it came out there had only been Man City in that calendar year who had scored more goals than Villa.

If there is one thing that runs through all Geordies, from grandmas to small children, it is a love of Newcastle United.

When you're taking on a Sean Dyche team, you know what's coming.

When I got the sack from Huddersfield it hurt me badly. I became reclusive, I never went to a match, don't think I left the house for five months.

When you get sacked, everybody thinks: 'He's a football manager, he'll get lots of money,' but you still get sacked, which for me is a slur on you, it degrades you.

I want to entertain, I want Newcastle United that is the best it can possibly be.

I accept I am not everyone's cup of tea, but judge me over a period of time.

I was headstrong when I was younger and maybe I've had too many jobs in my time.

Only those who have lost their parents will know what it is like. It is horrific, it is hard and it breaks your heart, it really does.

I'm a Newcastle lad, so to be manager is every Geordie's dream.

You do get labelled in the game, and that's why I enjoyed my time managing in the Championship. I'd back myself against most people in that division.